Charlie this is a facebook post you mom wrote about you. We are so proud of you and the remarkable young man you are becoming. Hope you are never too big for Diva and Poppa Hugs.
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Happy birthday Charlie Bear
This boy. Today he turns ten and I celebrate him and the joy he brings to all who know him. Charlie has a tender heart and such a willingness to share, whether that is making sure dad buys a special pink donut for mom for his birthday morning breakfast or letting his brother “help him” build a favorite lego kit. He is the first to show love when everyone else is frustrated. He gives the best cuddles when he sees my hurt. He is a good listener and he LOVES to tell you the plot lines of a story. He is smart and patient and kind. I love who he is and I can’t wait to see what big things he will do in this world. I can’t be more proud of my sweet Charlie Bear. ❤️
Friday, December 25, 2020
Christmas Day 2020
It snowed Christmas Eve, so Christmas Day started later for Diva and Poppa. We waited till about 10 0'clock before we started our trek to spend Christmas with you and your brothers. We kept a count of how many cars and trucks we saw in the ditch on our normal 10-minute drive to your house. We told you that whoever got the closest would be able to open their gifts first. Oz guessed 5, Charlie guessed 7 and Henry guessed 12. Henry was the closest.
We actually counted 16 cars and trucks in the ditch.
It was a fun day because all of you were so excited. Every gift was better than the last and watching you boys really made Christmas special for us.
Your Dad got an empty bottle with a label on it that said, Big bottle of Nothing. He laughed and laughed and said it was the perfect gift. When your mom asked your dad what he wanted for Christmas he said "Nothing" so that's what she got him. Clever Mom.
My favorite gift was from your parents and your Aunts and Uncles. It is our family tree burned into a real slice of wood. It has everyone's names and birthdays. Our family tree is complete for a very long time.
Your Diva and Poppa
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
12 days of Christmas
A Bennetch Christmas Tradition. 12 days of Christmas ribbon
Years ago when our children were very young and had no sense of time they would get up every morning hoping it was Christmas. They were so excited and would follow up with the next question such as......" Will it be Christmas tomorrow?"
So being a very poor pastor's wife we would make a paper chain with the exact number of links till it would be Christmas. We would hang it by the table and every day we would cut off one link. That way they could see how many sleeps till Christmas day.
As they grew older we would write an activity on each link to do for that day. There were activities such as baking cookies, make Christmas cards, watch a Christmas movie, have a snowball fight, or sing a silly Christmas song.
As the children grew older each one wanted to make his or her own Christmas chain and write their own activity. Of course, they never wanted to do the same thing at the same time so that idea was quickly abandoned.
The next improvement was each child would tell me what colors they wanted their chain to be. I would cut the strips and number them so one child got to be the leader in an activity, another got to be the one to pick out the book we would read together and the third child got a special message ( either a compliment or a timed challenge with a reward ). As you can easily see this led to hurt feelings with 3 preschoolers so this was quickly abandoned for our present-day solution.
Now, Mom wraps candy with a special note inside for each kid and glues it on a ribbon. It used to be 25 notes times 3. Each note had to be heartfelt, funny, or what I admired about them. And yes, they would compare them with each other to see who mom loved best.
Our kids are grown now with kids of their own. I still make them ribbons every year as well as for each grandchild. The tradition is now the 12 days of Christmas.
I also decorate and make some ribbons for extended family and friends. Of course the older I get the more friends I've made. So if you receive an Advent ribbon from me know that you are holding a special piece of my heart.
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Christmas Advent Ribbon 2020
Charlie, I love that you are a snappy dresser. I love the bow tie. Did you know that Poppa used to wear a bow tie all the time when I first met him? You are definitely your Poppa’s “mini-me”. Diva
Charlie, this is one of my favorite pictures of you. I am so glad that you and your family can still go on camping adventures. Do you still like to fish? You make me laugh and give me the best hugs. Your Diva
Charlie, thank you for being a good friend to our Dog Lady. We still miss her. You were always very kind to her. I know you will really be kind to Madeline as she grows out of the puppy stage and stops chomping on your ears...Ouch! Diva
Charlie, you are the middle child, your mom is a middle child, Diva is a middle child also. You need to know that you play an important role in your family. You can relate to Oscar and his interests yet still be a good friend and role model for Henry. The best part of the cookie is the sweet middle that holds it all together. Just ask Oreo. My special boy. Diva
Charlie, Charlie, my kindest, sweetest, sensitive child. I have to laugh that you would choose to be Darth Vader. Evil henchman of the Emperor. You definitely have the chokehold perfected.
Charlie, I love my boys. Thanks for always giving me hugs. I run on hugs and you and your brothers keep me “fueled up” Diva
Charlie Bear, who knew I would enjoy watching you and Henry in a bubble blowing contest. Henry is full of hot hair so he blew the biggest ones but you my clever boy blew the most and had the biggest pile. I love this picture of you both. You look so pleased with your accomplishment. Your Diva
Charlie, how much do I love you? To the moon and back again. YourCrazy Diva.
trouble you would swoop down and save me. Love you, love your costumes! Your always in trouble ...Diva P.S. I love your sweet prayers for me more than I can express in words.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Diva's Favorites Things
This is one of my favorite pictures of Lexi Anne. She is growing so quickly. It is very hard only getting to see her and her sister once a year. We appreciate Rachel posting new pictures frequently of the girls.
Some of my Current Favorite Things.....
Dark Chocolate Hershey kisses,
Blue Bunny white chocolate cookies and cream
weekly visits to the library
babysitting with the grandboys
popcorn shrimp
grits and cheese
heart-shaped rocks
daisies
dragonflies and fireflies
seeing the scale go down
baby giggles
funny cat videos
pictures of the family
a rock tumbler
adventures
organizing my kitchen storage
using my air fryer
cooking new recipes
double recliner (big enough for Charlie, Lady and me)
spontaneous hugs from the boys
monthly Sunday Sermon with Charlie at the nursing home
pixel art app
video games
birthday cake
Advent calendars
Fall, leaves, sweaters, mums, pumpkin everything, apple everything
Christmas decorations and tree
chicken decorations
taco salad
homemade soup on a cold day
a fire in the fireplace
a warm blanket
hot herbal tea
a good book
flowers on my table
pandora (Christian radio)
turquoise jewelry and also my favorite color
Sunflowers
a new laptop for my birthday (yes, that's a hint)
spending time with friends
learning a new craft
making hearts with melty beads with the grandboys
binge-watching my favorite shows on Netflix
Thanksgiving
Christmas
Hallmark sappy movies
time travel anythings
mysteries
Diva Camp with the grandchildren
prayer partners
checking off lists
hats
haircuts
swing on my porch swing
flowers in the garden
air conditioning in the summer
scented candles
grilled cheese sandwiches
pockets
cool purses
Thursday, October 3, 2019
how I met your Poppa
I met your Poppa at church in a Sunday School class for College and Career. I was new to the church and had seen him singing in the church choir. I liked him instantly and decided to meet him.
I arrived early and eagerly waited for him to show up. He was late. Class started and after a preliminary welcome, we were encouraged to mingle and meet newcomers. At last, my moment had come and I started my quest to meet him only to be stopped 4 times by people wanting to meet me. My momma did not raise me to be rude so I missed my opportunity to meet him.
It was a big class (about 25 people) so we were divided into groups by counting off into groups of four. I listen to whatever number he said and went directly to his group as soon as we broke up. I sat next to him and marveled at how smart and articulate he was. (I should add that your Diva is attracted to Nerds.)
After class, I asked him if he was going to go to church so I could sit next to him. He smiled sweetly and said "Yes, I am, I sing in the choir! ( Rats! I forgot about that.) I gave him my best smile but it didn't persuade him to skip choir and sit with me. So I sat by myself and dozed off and on through the sermon since I had been up all night long. Hopefully, it looked like I was in deep meditation or prayer!
After church," I lingered longer" in hopes of accidentally bumping into him. When that didn't happen I decided to give up and go home to bed defeated in my purpose. When I got to my car, guess who was parked behind me? Yes, dear children, it was your future Poppa. God is good!
We talked, I flirted, and then he asked me to join him for lunch! I forgot how tired I was and instantly agreed. We went out for pizza and it felt very comfortable talking with him. We laughed, and conversation seemed to flow in both directions.
When the bill arrived he discovered the restaurant didn't take credit cards and he only had a dollar in his pocket. So yes dear children, I ended up paying for our first date and as I like to remind him....I've been paying for it ever since!
We met in March, got engaged in April, and were married in July. So you can see that even though your Poppa was shy and quiet when we met he definitely was just waiting for me. We just celebrated our 46th anniversary this year.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Summer recap
Hello, long-forgotten blog... I'm back!
I always have such good intentions! However, my follow-through has a lot to be desired.
I love the fall. I love the cooler weather, the fall foliage, apples cider, pumpkin everything, warm sweaters, mums, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
This summer was busy with a long-anticipated visit to Texas to meet our newest grandchild Lexi, and love on her big sisters Lyra and Lucy. We came home with an unexpected blessing...Lady, our granddog, now our dog. We flew to Texas but drove back in a rental car with Lady and all her belongings. Our cats were not very receptive to the new family member but gradually realized she was not going anywhere so finally tolerated her. 
We loved having Becky, Emma, and Danny for two weeks in June and July. It was an action-packed time with lots of activities, games, side trips, Diva Camp, 4th of July fireworks, and yes, the traditional family photo. We miss them so much so have to get a year's worth of fun in the two weeks we have together. Emma is 12, she is so tall and a real beauty. She loves cats, art, girl guides, acting, and animals.
Suzy turned 40 this year. How can that be? My children are middle age! I turn 70 this November!! Yikes! Becky starts her work on her Doctorate this month. She hopes to finish by the time Emma graduates. Emma is entering 7th grade. The grandboys seem to grow every night. Oz started 5th grade, Charlie 3rd grade and Henry is in first grade. I love that they come running to give me hugs whenever we see them at church. I know to soak it up now because there will come a day when they will be occupied with cars and girlfriends.
We no longer have our two cats JJ and Lucy. Lucy was having many seizures each day and JJ had some serious intestinal issues and was losing weight. They were littermates and lifelong companions. They slept huddled together every night and neither would have done well without the other. They were almost 18 years old and are missed daily.My desire is to write more. I need to get back to water aerobics at the senior center and fill my days with adventures.
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